"The thing that remains to demand explanation is why we didn't just wait and invent something, yes? The Enemy had the run of the Outer Lands and orcs reproduce very quickly."

"It is the third greatest regret of my life but it was also so utterly inevitable that I am as angry with the Valar for making it so as with myself for not thinking fast enough."

"Well. I'm sure not the person to go to for a defense of the Valar."

"The other two big regrets can't be pinned on them, except via the Doom."

"The Doom?"

"Did I fail to mention that? The Valar punished us for Alqualonde by damning us to fail in fulfilling our oath, fail in everything we began, and die - "by weapon and torment and grief" - or wish we had."

"Eugh."

"I think Loki's decided Aule is lovely and Ulmo tolerable? But yes, they did a great evil there."

"Aulë was the first one I met and that was back when I was very new to the concept of gods that were not intensely intrinsically hazardous to attract attention from so I don't think I formed a neutral character assessment, just 'sheer terror'. Never had a chance to form a separate opinion on Ulmo."

"It sounds like they wronged you worse than us. I am very sorry."

"Oh, the sheer terror thing wasn't the Valar's fault, that's just a 'grew up in Materia' thing. Aulë didn't actually do anything scary besides be a god at me."

"Eventually they sent you back there!"

"Yes, but I don't know if they were unanimous on that? They didn't argue in front of me but maybe some of them wanted to let me stay or only send me to the Outer Lands."

"I imagine so. But - 

my greatest regret isn't a decision I made, and is in fact one I opposed and feuded to have a part in. And that wasn't enough, I should have figured out how to stop it."

"Maybe some of them are very sorry. I don't know," she sighs.

"I seriously might go speak to them, if they've stopped resurrections."

"Since you've got a way out of the universe that doesn't depend on suppressible wizardry that's maybe a good plan."

"And we're living proof that instances of you can avert fate."

"Good for instances of me."

"Good for everyone. Fate seems to have been ugly. Uglier than things in fact got, actually."

"I think your world got the things I saw except for Fëanáro dying, what else was there?"

"Loki has a dubious acquaintance who says one of the Enemy's more sadistic lieutenants sticks around for eight thousand years. And that I personally take down half of Beleriand in an oath-forced catastrophe, I think. Mind, the acquaintance in question calls me 'Loki's pet Elf' and is not generally a good person."

"...why does the acquaintance call you that?"

"Not sure she thinks we incarnates are people. Loki gets honorary godhood. It is also something the Enemy liked to say of me."